Emissions

Most dirt bikes, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), snowmobiles, jet skis and other mass produced off-road vehicles in use today are powered by inefficient two-stroke engines. These engines, which also power many chainsaws, trimmers and outboard motors, burn a combination of oil and gas.

Like we said before, most off-road motorcycles and ATVs etc today are 4 strokes. These guys should really double-check their facts before stating what is basically a lie. Please verify for yourself the current lineup of both Honda and Yamaha, arguably the biggest manufacturers. Find the off-road motorcycle models and check each model! Does anyone honestly believe that these companies would endanger their profits by selling loud obnoxious and noxious bikes?

Also, about emissions, please just take a look at the same models. Each features prominently a rather large muffler - can you guess what it's for?

The OFTR requires and enforces a 94db noise limit and also the use of spark arrestors.

Erosion

Dirt bikes, which are generally equipped with narrow tires, cause significant erosion by creating ruts which can expand into gullies several feet deep following heavy rains. Erosion depletes top soil and contributes to stream sedimentation, which destroys critical habitat for a wide array of fish, including salmon and trout.

Well, it is obvious that unorganized use of trails can lead to problems. It is however the duty of the foresters to protect their forest, encourage the creation of and cooperate with local user groups. Communicating areas to avoid, changing the trails every now and then will obviously address these issues.

For instance, in several Simcoe County Forests, we know we're not allowed in the stream, period!

Contrary to cooperation, many of the current movements try to restrict use of off-road motorcycles. This will most obviously create more problems by concentrating the same traffic on a smaller portion of the forest. Illogical, really!

As you'll see at that page, the rest documents some possible erosion issues due to anarchic use and they discourage dialog and cooperation, so they're not helping.

Dirt bikes and ATVs spread noxious and invasive weeds which crowd out native plants, alter natural habitat and adversely impact farmers and ranchers. Based on research by the Montana State University Extension Service, a single dirt bike or ATV can spread 2,000 seeds over a 10-mile radius.(Montana State University Extension Service, 1992)

This one's actually possible. Given the nature of the forests we ride in around Toronto, this point is mute. These are small, contained forests and we do not go on farmland or whatnot, so…

Also, what one single bike can do does not imply, like they try, that they all do!

Habitat

There's lots of tree-huggers like that believe that off-road vehicles endanger the habitat of the few forests. Well, the biggest threat to any animals anywhere are us, humans. So, before eradicating the tens of millions of humans and tear down their asphalt cities and polluting factories etc, don't pick on the few hundred that affect few acres, ok? That's just mean.

Other than upsetting a few owls, we don't endanger much. We do NOT run over rats, chase beavers, or hunt deers, really!

Please watch this video of a usual trail ride and observe the end. Which is the biggest problem to erosion/habitat/our forests etc?

Safety

Read on their page - there's some data about ATVs. Since they do not address dirt bikes, I do not care to comment.

Cooperation

Here's a short verse from an English poet and teacher: Elizabeth Wordsworth: «The good are so harsh to the clever, the clever so rude to the good!»

Or the full text:

If all the good people were clever,
And all clever people were good,
The world would be nicer than ever
We thought that it possibly could.
But somehow 'tis seldom or never
The two hit it off as they should,
The good are so harsh to the clever,
The clever, so rude to the good!
So friends, let it be our endeavour
To make each by each understood;
For few can be good, like the clever,
Or clever, so well as the good.